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Communicating About Your Efforts to Reduce the

Number of People with Mental Illnesses in Jails

March 2018

#StepUp4MentalHealth

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We are Stepping Up!

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Stepping Up Framework: Six Questions

www.StepUpTogether.org/Toolkit

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Stepping Up Framework: Four Key Measures

www.StepUpTogether.org/Toolkit

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Resources Toolkit

www.StepUpTogether.org/Toolkit

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Upcoming Stepping Up Activities

Webinar: Engaging People with

Mental Illnesses in Your Planning

Efforts

April 26, 2pm EST

www.StepUpTogether.org

Stepping Up Day of Action

May 16

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Stepping Up Day of Action

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Today’s Webinar

Fred Wong

Communications Director

National Association of Counites

Timothy Britt

Chief Deputy

Alamance County

Sheriff’s Office

The Honorable Bob Byrd

Commissioner

Alamance County, N.C.

Laura Usher

Senior Manager

Criminal Justice & Advocacy

National Alliance on Mental Illness

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Speaker: Fred Wong

Fred Wong

Communications Director

National Association of Counites

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Communications Strategies

for Stepping Up Counties

▪ Creating a Communications Plan

▪ Communicating through Local News Media

▪ Traditional Media Strategies

▪ Online Media Strategies

▪ Hosting or Participating in Events

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Creating a Communications Plan

▪ Determine your goals

▪ Develop key headline messages to support your goals

▪ Identify specific audiences

▪ Develop key secondary messages to appeal to those

specific audiences, and

▪ Consider all communications tools available.

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Communicating through Local News Media

▪ Know the key reporters, editors, columnists,

broadcasters and bloggers in your area

▪ Closely follow what is being reported in the local news

▪ Have a sense of how the community is reacting to

certain news stories and controversies

▪ Avoid common media relations errors, and

▪ Do not lose any sleep over your media coverage or lack

of it.

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Traditional Media Strategies

▪ Media advisory

▪ News release

▪ Opinion column

▪ Letter to the editor

▪ Editorial board meeting

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Online Media Strategies

▪ County website and email

▪ Calendar

▪ Blog

▪ Video

▪ Social Media

#StepUp4MentalHealth

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▪ Town Hall or Press Conference

▪Open House or Tour

▪ Bringing Information to Residents

▪ Encouraging Engagement and Community Service

#StepUp4MentalHealth

Hosting or Participating in Events

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#StepUp4MentalHealth

Additional Resources

Fred Wong

Communications Director

National Association of Counites

FWong@NACo.org

202-942-4271

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Speaker: Laura Usher

Laura Usher

Senior Manager

Criminal Justice & Advocacy

National Alliance on Mental Illness

Engaging Peers and Family Members in Your Stepping Up Initiative

Laura Usher

Senior Manager, Criminal Justice and Advocacy

NAMI

Find Your NAMI at www.nami.org/local

Personal Stories

• How do you describe the people you serve?

• How do you describe the initiative’s goals?

• Are peers and family members helping to craft your message?

Messaging

NAMI's Mental Health Month website

Resources

Download: Ten Ways to Engage People Affected by Mental Illness in Your Community

Laura Usher

Senior Manager,

Criminal Justice and Advocacy

NAMI

CIT@nami.org

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Timothy Britt

Chief Deputy

Alamance County Sheriff’s Office

Speakers: Bob Byrd and Timothy Britt

The Honorable Bob Byrd

Commissioner

Alamance County, N.C.

Alamance Steps UpOutreach and Communication Strategies

Timothy Britt, Chief Deputy SheriffBob Byrd, County Commissioner

Alamance County, NCMarch 15, 2018

Alamance County Demographics

• Located on the 1-85/I-40 corridor in north central NC

• Population: 159,688

• Combination of small urban and rural

• Median age: 39

• 64.6% Caucasian, 20% African-American, 12.6% Hispanic, 3.1% other

• Median household income in 2016: $43,209

• 16.1% living in poverty

• 14.1% of those under 65 have no health insurance

• 9,934+ veterans living in the county

• 22% have college degree or higher

Jail Demographics: July 2016

• 476 new inmates booked

• 65 identified with mental illness• 51 received psychiatric medications• 10 isolated on suicide watch• 9 on detox monitoring• 42 booked for misdemeanors• 40 were repeat offenders

• $156,243 Cost to detain in July 2016

The Alamance Story • Sheriff championing this issue 15 years ago… looking to hire a clinical

social worker for the detention center

• Detention Center is the largest holding facility of people with mental illness in the county

• Stepping Up resolution adopted by County Commissioners August 2015

• One of two counties in NC chosen to attend the NACo National Stepping Up Summit April 2016

• Stepping Up Co-Coordinators hired by the Sheriff’s Department in May 2016

• Long history of community collaboration reduces time to fruition

Inmate 22197Booked 26 times since 2009 (nuisance and misdemeanors)

Putting a face on the issue… The Human Toll

Inmate 22197• 711 days in pre-trial custody

• 27.3 average days/booking

• 23 of 26 bookings resulted in release for “time served”

• 39 “incidents” in custody

• $55,130.94 taxpayer cost to incarcerate

The Human Toll

Inmate 22197 Today

The Human Toll

Outreach - Getting the Right Players to the Table• Board of Commissioners adopted the Stepping Up resolution August

2015.

• Initial Planning Team:• County Manager

• County Commissioner

• Director of Social Services

• Sheriff and Chief Deputy Sheriff

• Invited more to the table…

Outreach - Getting the Right Players to the Table• Leadership Team through Fall 2017 (met monthly):

• County Commissioner (co-chair)• Director of Social Services (co-chair)• County Manager• Sheriff and Chief Deputy Sheriff• Health Director• Local Mental Health/DD/SA Authority Executive• District Attorney• Executive Director, NC Psychiatric Association• Director of Administration and Community Services, Sheriff’s Office• Chief Medical Officer, Cone Health/Alamance Regional Medical Center• Private Psychiatrist• Local NAMI Chapter President• Project Co-Coordinators (staff)

Outreach - Getting the Right Players to the Table• TODAY – Justice Advisory Council

• Family Justice Center – Even Months• Alamance Steps Up – Odd Months

• County Commissioner (current co-chair)• Director of Social Services (current co-chair)• Law Enforcement

• Sheriff’s Department• Burlington Police Department• Graham Police Department• Haw River Police Department• Elon Police Department• Gibsonville Police Department• Mebane Police Department

• Judiciary• Magistrate’s Office• Probation/Parole• County Manager

• County Health Director• District Attorney• ABSS Board of Education• United Way of Alamance• Cone Health/ARMC• Cardinal Innovations Healthcare (Mental

Health Authority)

At Large Appointments (Board of Commissioners)

• Local Defense Attorney• Faith Based Organization• Consumer/NAMI Rep./Service Recipient• Domestic Violence Victim or Family Member• Local Psychiatrist

➢ Plus: Affiliate Members

Outreach - Getting the Right Players to the Table

• A Broader “Task Force” (semi-annually) – the Leadership Team plus:• Consumers and Consumer Advocates• Hospital President, ED Manager, Behavioral Medicine Unit Manager, Medication Assistance Program Manager• District Court Judge(s)• Private Mental Health Providers• Family Justice Center Director• Healthy Alamance Director• C-Com Director• Police Chiefs• Allied Churches Ministry (homeless shelter) Director• Mental Health Authority Community and Family Advisory Council Head• Facilities Based Crisis Center and Detox Center Director• Veteran Services Director• United Way Executive(s)• Alamance Citizens For A Drug Free Community President• EMS Director• School Board Representative• Other Elected Officials• Other Human Service Agency Officials

Developing Community Support

• Broad Participation:• Justice Advisory Council• Stepping Up Task Force• “Community Dialogue” Event – Mapping the Process, Identifying Gaps,

Prioritizing• Committees and Subcommittees:

• Community Service Capacity and Sustainability• Diversion Center Planning and Implementation• Reclaimed Pharmacy• Identifying and Managing High Utilizers

• First Responder Training and Community Education• Detention Center Screening, Assessment, and Treatment• Recovery and Re-Entry Strategies

Developing Community Support

• Periodic Progress Reports to Board of Commissioners• Updates• Field Trips and Conferences• Grant Successes/Budget Amendments• Press Coverage

• Community Presentations/Speakers Bureau• Civic Clubs – Rotary, Kiwanis, Civitans, etc.• Board of Education• United Way Community Council• National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) Chapter• Chamber of Commerce• Political Party Meetings (e.g. Republican Women)

• Website: www.Alamance-NC.com/steppingup

State Presentations“Serving a Life Sentence 30 days at a time!”

• Administrative Office of the Courts

• Governor’s Crime Commission

• NC General Assembly-Mental Health Subcommittee

• NC Council of Community Programs

• State Stepping Up Conference

• Featured in “NC Health News”

Success Factors – Outreach and Communications• Getting the right players to the table – broad based

engagement

• Having paid staff

• Keeping everyone engaged: tours, conferences, monthly meetings

• Putting a local face on the issue--case study or story specific to your county

• Sharing responsibility for telling the story- everyone advancing the message

Alamance Steps UpOutreach and Communication Strategies

Timothy Britt, Chief Deputy SheriffBob Byrd, County Commissioner

Alamance County, NCMarch 15, 2018

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Questions

Questions?

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Polling Questions

Polling Questions

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Upcoming Stepping Up Activities

Webinar: Engaging People with

Mental Illnesses in Your Planning

Efforts

April 26, 2pm EST

www.StepUpTogether.org

Stepping Up Day of Action

May 16

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Contact Stepping Up